COLUMBUS, Ohio, September 20, 2018 /3BL Media/ — At its annual Charity Golf Outing in Somerset, NJ last week, The Briad Group® presented the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption with a check for $425,000 and pledged additional contributions toward the Foundation’s commitment to dramatically increase the number of adoptions from foster care. With Dave Thomas’ value of giving back at its core, The Briad Group and its partners, employees and sponsors have raised more than $5 million to advance the Foundation’s mission over the last 20 years.

“The Briad Group sets the bar high for unconditional, passionate and cause-focused commitment in their restaurants and through their record-setting golf tournament,” said Rita Soronen, President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. “We are so grateful to the leadership of The Briad Group and their teams for being incredible stewards of Dave Thomas’ legacy and encouraging not only employees in the Wendy’s family, but also partners in other organizations and friends to support the Foundation’s mission.”

Through the generosity of The Briad Group, the Foundation is making significant progress in scaling its Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program across the United States and Canada. This evidence-based program is up to three times more effective in finding adoptive families for children who have been waiting in foster care the longest. To date, nearly 8,000 children have been adopted as a direct result of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, including nearly 500 children in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, where The Briad Group operates.

“Briad has always been and always will be committed to giving back to the communities we serve,” said Rick Barbrick, President, CO-CEO & COO of The Briad Group. “We value all our teammates, guests and people less fortunate than us. We are proud to enter our 20th year supporting the Dave Thomas Foundation and exceeding $5 million in donations to this worthy cause.”

“Our mission is to ‘create lifelong relationships with our teammates and guests,’ and certainly that includes the entire Wendy’s family as well as our wonderful business partners and friends,” Barbrick added.

“Giving something back to the communities we call home is one of The Wendy’s Company’s core values, and it’s important to us that our franchise partners embrace this value too,” said Todd Penegor, President and CEO of The Wendy’s Company. “Since The Briad Group joined the Wendy’s family in 1994, it has been a tremendous contributor to Wendy’s and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. We consistently see the organization’s commitment to live the Wendy’s brand purpose of creating joy and opportunity through food, family and community.”

About the Dave Thomas Foundation for AdoptionThe Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national nonprofit public charity dedicated exclusively to finding permanent homes for the more than 150,000 children waiting in North America’s foster care systems. Created by Wendy’s® founder Dave Thomas who was adopted, the Foundation implements evidence-based, results-driven national service programs, foster care adoption awareness campaigns and innovative grantmaking. To learn more, visit davethomasfoundation.org.